N.Z. STILL ADHERES TO PLAN TO PARTITION PALESTINE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22617, 21 April 1948, Page 5

N.Z. STILL ADHERES TO PLAN TO PARTITION PALESTINE

(N.Z.P. A.—Reuter—Copyright.) (11 a.m.) LAKE SUCCESS, April 20. The New Zealand delegate, Sir Carl Berendsen, today reaffirmed hia country’s support for the partition of Palestine, asserting' that if partition with an economic union was “right in November, then it is right today.’’

Speaking at the first meeting of the political committee of the United Nations’ special Palestine Assembly session, Sir Carl said: “The circumstances have not changed in the slightest—the only new factor that has arisen is the detestable series of murders and outrages in Palestine by both sides " Speaking with great emphasis, he said: I don’t suggest that any delegation which voted in favour of partition believed that it was the perfect solution. The best that could be done was find a solution which offered the least injustice. “The New Zealand Government believed then that partition was the best solution, and it believes the same today. In our view the Assembly decided last year to do the right thing in the wrong way.” He said that when the Assembly agreed on partition it should also have agreed on the means of implementing it. “If now the Assembly allows itself to be forced to abandon the decision because it has been challenged by force, then the Assembly will take upon itself a responsibility which will be a tragedy for many years to come. This is a test case for the United Nations. The future of this organisation and the future of the world may, indeed, depend on the way we decide this question. "What the world needs today are not resolutions, but resolution. It is the most earnest hope of my Government that the Assembly will adhere to the principle it accepted last November”